Transcript 3/13/2009 - Jim Batts (carryover contestant)

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Jim Batts
St. Louis, MO
Caricature artist

Topic tree:
- John Wayne
- Beelzebub
- Highs and Lows
- Unlikely Pairs
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Crash Davis
- Citizens Trust
- Movie Couples
- Wes Anderson
- Netflix Clip
- Quentin Tarantino
- Wesley Snipes
[/i]- Walt Disney
- Dolly & Burt
- Space Chimps[/i]

Meredith knows that Jim got the call to be on Millionaire when he was in the theater watching "Burn Before Reading". He had his phone on vibrate and when he saw the area code...no one could believe that someone like him could move so fast. Jim has done a caricature of Meredith, in a superhero costume. Meredith says that he did some enhancement, especially up top. Jim is wearing a Captain America T-shirt for luck.

$500 - In the "Blade" movie trilogy, Wesley Snipes plays a hero who is half-human and half what?
A - ghost
B - vampire
C - werewolf
D - zombie

Spoiler

B - vampire (11)

$1K - In a cameo appearance as a gangster, Quentin Tarantino memorably discusses the Madonna song "Like a Virgin" in what film?
A - Carlito's Way
B - Casino
C - New Jack City
D - Reservoir Dogs

Spoiler

D - Reservoir Dogs (8)

Jim has earned the ATE lifeline; today's experts are the executives who pick the movies for Netflix - Ted Sarandos and Erin Ruane. Meredith asks what the most requested movie is; Erin says currently it's "Crash", which won the Academy Award two years ago.

$2K - Political odd couple Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts heatedly "talk shop" in this memorable scene from what drama? [A clip is shown onscreen.]
A - Air Force One
B - The American President
C - Charlie Wilson's War
D - Wag the Dog

Spoiler

C - Charlie Wilson's War (22)

commercial break

Meredith says that Jim is strong, he's a superhero. He subscribes to Netflix and the next year is on them - and the audience gets a year's subscription also.

Jim has a rooting section with him - he calls them "The Magnificent Seven".

$4K - Bill Murray stars in all but which of these movies by indie director Wes Anderson?
A - Bottle Rocket
B - The Royal Tenenbaums
C - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
D - Rushmore

Spoiler

A - Bottle Rocket (21)

$8K - The names of the title characters in the 2008 film "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" are a reference to characters in what classic film?
A - Swing Time
B - The Thin Man
C - It Happened One Night
D - Duck Soup

Spoiler

B - The Thin Man (23)

$16K - An envelope labeled "Citizens Trust" figures prominently in what popular movie thriller?
A - Blade Runner
B - L.A. Confidential
C - The Departed
D - Double Indemnity

Jim doesn't know and asks to poll (corrected to "ask") the audience. The clock stops with 21 seconds left.

ATA results:
A - 9%
B - 29%
C - 35%
D - 27%

Spoiler

This isn't a very good result so Jim decides to ask the expert(s), stopping the clock with 19 seconds. Meredith feeds them the question. Ted says that in "The Departed" the protagonist writes "citizen" on an envelope with the name of the gang members and misspells "citizen". Ted can't remember if "trust" was after it.

Jim says that he was leaning toward that answer also, so with 16 seconds left he makes

Spoiler

C

his final answer.

Spoiler

C - The Departed (16)

commercial break

Jim's brother has a radio show and once a month Jim comes on for a segment called "Stump Senor Smartypants". Callers can call in and ask him movie questions and very rarely do they stump him.

$25K - In a memorable speech from "Bull Durham," which of the following is not one of the things that Kevin Costner's character says he believes in?
A - the soul
B - the beer belly
C - good scotch
D - high fiber

Jim ponders the question for a moment then decides to Double Dip, stopping the clock with 18 secons remaining. Jim selects

Spoiler

D

for his first final answer. This isn't right, so the clock starts up again. Jim's second final answer is

Spoiler

B

and this time he's correct.

Spoiler

B - the beer belly (15)

$50K - At the end of "It's a Wonderful Life," George receives a message from his guardian angel inscribed in a copy of what book?
A - Gulliver's Travels
B - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
C - The Pilgrim's Progress
D - David Copperfield

Jim opts to phone a friend, stopping the clock with 37 seconds remaining. On his PAF list are: his boss, Tom, from Burnsville, MN; his brother Jeff, from Benton, IL; and his friend Tom, also from Benton, IL. Jim chooses to call his friend Tom. Jim reads the question verbatim followed by the answers. Tom says he was in that show (play) and doesn't remember if it was mentioned. He hesitates to make a guess and time expires before he can say anything else. It's a free guess, so Jim goes with

Spoiler

B

. Surprising everyone, he's right!

Spoiler

B - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (33)

commercial break

Jim would like to help his mother take a little extra time off during the winter - she is still working in the family business.

$100K - Which of these unlikely pairs has never appeared in the same movie?
A - Hallie Berry & Steven Segal
B - Annette Bening & Chuck Norris
C - Meg Ryan & Billy Idol
D - Sharon Stone & Meat Loaf

Jim ponders each of the choices and rather than walk away he decides to go for it, making

Spoiler

B

his final answer.

Spoiler

B - Annette Bening & Chuck Norris (4)

Meredith salutes Jim and says, "I have new respect for you, Captain America," to which Jim replies, "Thanks, citizen." Everyone laughs.
$250K - In 1998, writer Brian Helgeland won a Worst Screenplay "Razzie" for "The Postman" a day before he won an Oscar for writing what film?
A - Donnie Brasco
B - A Simple Plan
C - The Sweet Hereafter
D - L.A. Confidential

Jim says it's one of his all-time favorite movies.

Spoiler

D - L.A. Confidential (33)

Meredith says nothing but offers Jim a high five.

$500K - Which of these actors has never portrayed the Devil in a motion picture?
A - John Ritter
B - Ray Liotta
C - Mickey Rooney
D - Viggo Mortensen

"Nothing's popping out at me, darn it!" Jim exclaims. The clock ticks away as Jim ponders the question but finally he decides to walk away. He says it's been fun and he hates to do it.

Spoiler

B - Ray Liotta (5)

THE HORN!!!!!!!!

Movie week comes to an end.

[ulysses5019]

Jim Batts
St. Louis, MO
Caricature artist

Does this mean there's a chance for ES to get on the show? Or would he get past the interview portion?

[silvercamaro]

Jim Batts
St. Louis, MO
Caricature artist

Does this mean there's a chance for ES to get on the show? Or would he get past the interview portion?

I'm not saying it's impossible, but the APs have not yet selected a contestant that required a booster chair in the hot seat. ES is awfully short.

[NellyLunatic1980]

$8K - The names of the title characters in the 2008 film "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" are a reference to characters in what classic film?
A - Swing Time
B - The Thin Man
C - It Happened One Night
D - Duck Soup

One slight beef is that Nick Charles' wife's name was spelled without an H at the end.

Jim's brother has a radio show and once a month Jim comes on for a segment called "Stump Senor Smartypants". Callers can call in and ask him movie questions and very rarely do they stump him.

So this might qualify Jim as a What Else®.

$25K: I never saw this movie. I'll try the experts. If they don't have a definitive answer, I'll go to the PAF.

$50K: I've seen this movie many times, but I couldn't remember if it was "Tom Sawyer" or "David Copperfield". Double Dip.

$250K - In 1998, writer Brian Helgeland won a Worst Screenplay "Razzie" for "The Postman" a day before he won an Oscar for writing what film?
A - Donnie Brasco
B - A Simple Plan
C - The Sweet Hereafter
D - L.A. Confidential

I think this question was overvalued. This was the year that "Titanic" swept the Oscars and "L.A. Confidential" was the only one of those films that won even one Oscar.

$500K - Which of these actors has never portrayed the Devil in a motion picture?
A - John Ritter
B - Ray Liotta
C - Mickey Rooney
D - Viggo Mortensen

Neil Larrimore's $500K back in November 1999 asked which actor never portrayed Jesus on film, so I guess it was only a matter of time before they asked who never portrayed the devil. (I have a beef with the WWTBAM writers capitalizing the devil's name, though. I believe that the devil is not worthy of a capital D.) I know that John Ritter played the devil in the all-star Biblical spoof "Wholly Moses!", but I had no clue on the other three. I'll try the audience, even though they would probably have no clue. For all I know, they may overwhelmingly pick Mickey Rooney cuz he seems the most unlikely to play the devil. It's for that reason that I thought that he did play the devil. If I'm still lucky enough to have the PAF, I'll use him; otherwise, I'll walk away. Too bad that I had to spend my DD at $50K cuz I could've picked Liotta and Mortensen, the two actors who seemed like they could play a believeable devil.

[earendel]

Jim Batts
St. Louis, MO
Caricature artist

At least he's not a young whippersnapper.

$1K - In a cameo appearance as a gangster, Quentin Tarantino memorably discusses the Madonna song "Like a Virgin" in what film?
A - Carlito's Way
B - Casino
C - New Jack City
D - Reservoir Dogs

Spoiler

D - Reservoir Dogs (8)

I have NFI so it's time to use my first lifeline. This looks like a good place to ATA.

$4K - Bill Murray stars in all but which of these movies by indie director Wes Anderson?
A - Bottle Rocket
B - The Royal Tenenbaums
C - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
D - Rushmore

Spoiler

A - Bottle Rocket (21)

Time for the second lifeline. I know he was in B and D so it's Double Dip time, with A and C as my final answers.

$16K - An envelope labeled "Citizens Trust" figures prominently in what popular movie thriller?
A - Blade Runner
B - L.A. Confidential
C - The Departed
D - Double Indemnity

Jim doesn't know and asks to poll (corrected to "ask") the audience. The clock stops with 21 seconds left.

ATA results:
A - 9%
B - 29%
C - 35%
D - 27%

Spoiler

This isn't a very good result so Jim decides to ask the expert(s), stopping the clock with 19 seconds. Meredith feeds them the question. Ted says that in "The Departed" the protagonist writes "citizen" on an envelope with the name of the gang members and misspells "citizen". Ted can't remember if "trust" was after it.

Jim says that he was leaning toward that answer also, so with 16 seconds left he makes

Spoiler

C

his final answer.

Spoiler

C - The Departed (16)

Here goes my third lifeline - might as well ask the experts and see what happens.

$50K - At the end of "It's a Wonderful Life," George receives a message from his guardian angel inscribed in a copy of what book?
A - Gulliver's Travels
B - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
C - The Pilgrim's Progress
D - David Copperfield

Jim opts to phone a friend, stopping the clock with 37 seconds remaining. On his PAF list are: his boss, Tom, from Burnsville, MN; his brother Jeff, from Benton, IL; and his friend Tom, also from Benton, IL. Jim chooses to call his friend Tom. Jim reads the question verbatim followed by the answers. Tom says he was in that show (play) and doesn't remember if it was mentioned. He hesitates to make a guess and time expires before he can say anything else. It's a free guess, so Jim goes with

Spoiler

B

. Surprising everyone, he's right!

Spoiler

B - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (33)

This one I know.

$100K - Which of these unlikely pairs has never appeared in the same movie?
A - Hallie Berry & Steven Segal
B - Annette Bening & Chuck Norris
C - Meg Ryan & Billy Idol
D - Sharon Stone & Meat Loaf

Jim ponders each of the choices and rather than walk away he decides to go for it, making

Spoiler

B

his final answer.

Spoiler

B - Annette Bening & Chuck Norris (4)

This would be my fourth lifeline - PAF and hope it's Googlable.

$250K - In 1998, writer Brian Helgeland won a Worst Screenplay "Razzie" for "The Postman" a day before he won an Oscar for writing what film?
A - Donnie Brasco
B - A Simple Plan
C - The Sweet Hereafter
D - L.A. Confidential

Jim says it's one of his all-time favorite movies.

Spoiler

D - L.A. Confidential (33)

I'd be walking away.

$500K - Which of these actors has never portrayed the Devil in a motion picture?
A - John Ritter
B - Ray Liotta
C - Mickey Rooney
D - Viggo Mortensen

"Nothing's popping out at me, darn it!" Jim exclaims. The clock ticks away as Jim ponders the question but finally he decides to walk away. He says it's been fun and he hates to do it.

Spoiler

B - Ray Liotta (5)

Although I didn't know the answer, I guessed correctly from the comfort of my recliner.

Movie week comes to an end.

Thank goodness!

[megaaddict]

Movie week comes to an end.

Thank goodness!

I never really cared for the "theme" weeks, either, but I have to say this particular movie week was surprisingly entertaining. No one left with less than 25K and there were a couple 250K winners, one of which would have made at least half a million if he followed his hunch. The only annoying part were the "experts" of the first 3 shows, who knew less than the contestants even though they were movie "critics", so-called.

[smilergrogan]

I count four "Which of these is not x?" questions for this guy. Those are generally tougher than "Which of these is x?" - it's less likely you will definitely know the correct answer because you have to know three answers that are x instead of just one in order to be sure.

[ghostjmf]

And this one was fun to watch too.

Imagine: A game where people who know their stuff are allowed to play.

At least, on movie week, its sometimes like "the old days".